The St. Vrain Valley School District has increased its accreditation scores for the third year in a row.
Of its 53 schools, six schools moved up in ranking and 81% of the schools fell in the highest performance category. In 2021, 70% of SVVSD schools reached this level, said Jamie Bell, SVVSD executive director of assessment.
Jackie Kapushin, district deputy superintendent, said the increase in student performance can be attributed to extending the school day through after-school mentoring programs and the summer learning program, Project Launch.
Over the last four years, the district has focused on training at the elementary level to revamp the district’s ability to teach young students from a research-based reading curriculum. In the middle school levels, the district has offered students the opportunity to engage in advanced math courses to better prepare them for high school.
The district uses its accreditation score to determine where it needs to improve its teaching. So far it has identified the need to relaunch its high school math curriculum. Overall, the district’s data shows these programs have had a significant impact on student achievement and growth, Bell said.
Although the state of Colorado allows families to opt out of the CMAS, PSAT and SAT tests, SVVSD had an 88% participation rate in 2022.
In addition to working on improving the curriculum, Kapushin said the district strives to get 100% of its students involved in extracurricular activities such as music, art, robotics and sports. She said that the district has noticed a trend that test scores and student achievement increase when students find an activity they are passionate about.
